Play With An Important Purpose

The early years of a child’s life are extremely important as in these years the social, cognitive and physical development and growth of a child takes place. When children aren’t meeting developmental milestones, pediatric therapy services can be used to help with functional and adaptive skills that can build independence and enhance the quality of a child’s life at home, school and in the community.

With an extensive waiting list and an average patient roster of 150 children each week, Baptist Health Hardin’s pediatric therapy department answers a great need within Hardin County and the surrounding region. Physical, speech and occupational therapies can help improve a child’s physical abilities, motor skills, sensory processing difficulties, communication skills, executive functioning skills and more.

“The ability to build relationships with children and their families as you are working to help them achieve developmental milestones and to build independence is beyond rewarding,” said Kaycee Stone, manager of physical therapy at Baptist Health Hardin. “The moment you witness a child do something they couldn’t do before; it is just a feeling that you can’t explain. Whether it was taking their first step, communicating a need or using a spoon, these are skills that not only set a child up to function at their highest level of independence, it boosts their self-esteem and provides a sense of accomplishment.”

Through a partnership with WHAS Crusade for Children, an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of children with special needs, Baptist Health Hardin has been able to implement cutting edge therapies and purchase numerous pieces of equipment including a Galileo® vibration plate, LiteGait and Tobii Dynavox.